ERNST BURKHART AND JAVIER LÓPEZscholarly work Vol 1

God intends nothing less than sainthood for you! The early Church held that all believers could achieve holiness. Over time, this conviction was largely forgotten. Sainthood seemed to be an honor only intended for a select few among the priests and religious. Eric Sammons tells how twentieth century Spanish priest and canonized saint Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, recovered the message of the universal call to holiness. Declared the saint of ordinary life by Pope John Paul II, St. Josemaria developed a spirituality directed toward the sanctity of every man and woman. His legacy is the belief that each of us can, by God's grace, achieve holiness through the course of our ordinary life and work. The heart of Sammons' practical guide to the spiritual life is a detailed examination of the steps in St. Josemaria's thoughtful plan for building a saintly life in spite of your hectic work and home life in a world filled with distractions and temptations. Strive for your own personal holiness as you implement your daily plan to: --Be a Contemplative in the Midst of a Busy World --Live a Life of Prayer --Recognize the Presence of God --Make a Plan of Life --Make Your Work a Way to Heaven Holiness for Everyone will inspire you as it sets your feet on the path to sainthood. "Eric Sammons shows that St. Josemaria has recovered the most powerful truth of classic Christianity and restated it in a way that is compelling for men and women of our time." ---From the Foreword by Scott Hahn

The Virtues of Holiness offers a road-map for navigating our everyday activities: work, family, leisure pursuits. It shows how we can reach the heights of Christian life in and through these activities. For many people this is unfamiliar territory, and the author has written this book just for them. Fr. Lorda offers his readers a daily spiritual plan and describes strategies for gaining the virtues needed for following Christ closely. The next steps are familiarity with the life of Christ and developing a deep interior relationship with Him. Although its path is challenging, The Virtues of Holiness leaves no doubt that the struggle to stay close to Christ lies within the reach of every Christian. The author draws on a wide range of Christian apologists from the Church Fathers to St. Thomas Aquinas, as well as the 16th century Spanish mystics, John of Avila, John of the Cross, and Teresa of Avila. The result is a book that is accessible to readers of all ages, and especially young believers.

This keepsake book combines St. Josemaría's three beloved collections of spiritual guidance -- The Way, Furrow, and The Forge -- into one, with an expanded and combined index. This three-in-one edition offers you a starting-point for prayer and for finding Christ in all your life's experiences. It introduces you to St. Josemaría's guiding vision of holiness in everyday life.

Work is a fundamental element of human life that claims much of our time. Consider Jesus’ 30 years as a carpenter under the tutelage of St. Joseph! Our natural tendency can be to often curse or shirk its presence in life, instead of recognizing its true value as a source of personal development, improvement of society, and means of holiness and apostolate. The core part of the book is a dialogue between numerous scholars and Msgr. Fernando Ocáriz about the message of St. Josemaría Escrivá, one of the great teachers of modern spirituality, who has taught us to sanctify work, to sanctify oneself at work, and to sanctify others through work. Use these words to reflect on the meaning of work in your own life and to learn how to change your perception of work as a burden into work as a source of sanctification.